find a *need* and fill it...
Gerald, it's what I honestly believe. The 1911 was a good gun, but we should move on. Endearance to the old design is keeping us back. The firearms industry is one of the least innovative, backwards groups. They're just starting to use titanium! It's been used in bicycles since the mid-70s!
Well, I work in the "hi-tech" industry and I own a cutting edge computer (er, it was a few months ago at least).
Our modern age has created a thirst in people for "advancement" and the next big thing. The thinking often seems to be that if something is old, it should be updated and upgraded.
In the computer world, this is very appropriate. Newer designs do more work and use less energy and create less heat.
I have a computer here that is seven years old. The thing is nigh unuseable by todays standards. However, I would point out that
it can still do everything it could do when it was brand new.
It's performance has not degraded over time, rather, our expectations and needs have changed over time and older machines simply cannot keep up with current expectations.
Now, I have me a really nice Valtro 1911 pattern gun and if you have been paying attention, I talk it up every chance I get. I would say that I have never been happier with any product in my life - except perhaps with my TiVo...
The thing is, guns were made for shooting and handguns were made for shooting - usually for shooting people at short ranges.
Not much has changed in the 93 years the 1911 has been with us. Some folks still need shootin' and the 1911 gets 'em shot today just as well as it did in 1911.
These days we have better materials and we have seen that a well made 1911 is more than likely going to outlast the owner. Some people have made little changes here and there and you can get them with way more options now - but they all work pretty much the same.
Thats the way I like it. I like the nostalgia - the reason this gun is still around is that it works. It has worked for a long time and it does what it does with remarkable efficiency.
Have you ever used brand new computer technology? Ugh. Sure, its faster and shinier and often cheaper - but more often than not, it is
less reliable.
I know this well because I am a product tester. I help find the bugs in new technology. Believe me - there is a lot.
Most of the bugs in - say a printer - do not show up when you just try and print a picture or an email. No, you find the bugs when you do weird things - unusual things, often after you do weird things many many times.
Even then, many bugs are not found until a product is released into the market and people try things we did not have time to try.
This can get people pretty worked up when they are just printing paper documents.
If you make your superior design, it may work. It may be better in every way.
I will not buy it.
I do not want to find the bugs that you miss. I do not want to wonder if I will find the bugs you missed.
As long as the technical requirements for gettin' someone shot remain the same as they were in 1911, then my 1911 gun is not obsolete and is in no need of an upgrade.
I wish you the best.